31st of December, 2017, and 1st of January, 2018.
It was not difficult to find Ousmane’s (Authentic’s profile) house.
Since the first impression, he looks like a nice guy. The girls have the same thoughts.
We realize we are staying in his room and he would sleep in a separated room. The biggest problem for me (and not actually a problem but something that if I could avoid I would) is that the bathroom it is inside his parent’s bedroom. So every time we need to go to pee, morning or night, we need to pass through their bedroom. So I do not even need to say that most of the times they would be there.
Apart of that, the whole family is very nice and composed by mother and father and some sisters and maybe some Ousmane’s nephews. I really do not know because he does not explain pretty well for us. They are our first experience with the Senegalese style of trying to do everything for you, even feeding you, cutting the food for you and putting in your plate. Of course is just a way to show how much they care about you, but if you already know me well now, you are probably asking yourself how I was managing that? Me, who do not want at all be treated like a child, being fed? Yeah, sometimes it was hard and I try to think just in the goodness of their heart. But it was difficult.
Before we leave for a walk, we have a shower and start to talk about dinner. The family would prepare chicken with French fries and salad. It is when I discovered Maire’s diet: she does not eat any vegetables, fruits I guess it is just apples, and any kind of meat. So she basically eat just rice, pasta, bread, jam, French fries and cheese. I am shocked! How someone could be healthy eating like that? How someone can accept to eat like that? Am I being to judgmental now? We decide to buy some pasta and cheese to cook at night.
While we are walking a little around the city and taking some pictures on the river, they are speaking more French than English, and even when Ousmane try to put me on the conversation in English, it ended coming back to French. That just made me think again about not being completely nice with others. Is something fool that just I care about it? When I will be able to stop acting like that and then not get so frustrated? I mean, if I am with some people who speak Portuguese and English and there is one person in the group who just speak English, it would be pretty obvious to me speak in English. Even worse in their case who could speak in French everywhere in Nouakchott.
We meet some friends of the girls from Nouakchott. Unfortunately for me, they are in a tourist pub: there are three tables outside and they are all full of white tourists drinking beers.
Marie even starts to talk with the couple in the table beside her friends, what actually ended kind of well for me because the girl is pretty nice and humble, so she is the one who I talk more. I refuse to take a beer because it is too expensive and when Stephanie invite me for one, I refused.
I already had bought the pasta in a street market and it was cheap. When me and Stephanie walk to the Supermarket to look for the cheese, I check the price of the pasta and it is three times what I had paid. Even so, she refuses to listen to me and buy not just the cheese for the pasta but also some others expensive cheese for herself. Not get me wrong, I love cheese and if I could (like her) I would buy different types always, but in the places that make sense, not in Senegal for example.
Back home, we eat. My first experience with spicy Senegalese food it is great! It is almost midnight when we leave the house.
The first stop is a place suggested by Ousmane. And here (again) I get how so many tourists that just want to drink and go to clubs, make the local people think that everyone is like that. The club is a kind of “Dancing Days” place and looks really expensive. We find all those other friends, the tourists from the pub, over there. Luckily the girls also feel uncomfortable in the place so we leave.
In the way to the centre square, where it is happened a traditional celebration, Stephanie buy four beer cans. She pays for all of us. This time I accept because the price is less than the half of the other one, with the difference that it is a 500 ml can and not a 375 ml bottle.
At the completely full square, just some people traditionally dressed are singing and dancing a bit. With the small decorated cars I suddenly feel like in the Carnival of Brazil again.
It is already after midnight. It is now 2018 and it is my first New Year in a new life.
We spend a few time over there and when we finish our beers (with the exception of Marie who did not drink hers) we come back to the club to meet everybody and go all together to a concert.
In the club, the tourists had some problems with the bill. Until now I do not now exactly what happened and I am not that curious to find out (as Marie apparently was because she gave her own bear to one of the girls just to figure out, at least this is my opinion).
The concert is late. I am not feeling that OK with everybody there. When I am alone in a place with other people I am really OK with it. It is my decision. But be with a group, where everybody knows each other, it sounds like you are the one who are not going into, you know? Trying to make some friends, start conversations… I do not want to do that. It is not why I go to places. I was just trying go to Senegal and that was it.
So when everybody starts dancing, I a glad to be left in peace. Most of the time, the only other person who was not dancing, was the humble girl I mentioned before and we could talk a bit and laugh.
The rest of them, have the same problems we always do and always will when we have people drinking a lot and people dancing: there will be always someone being inconvenient, fights, and all the single woman who are dancing will be attacked for the stupid drunk men.
I might would enjoy dancing, you know? Try the Senegalese way of dancing. It is really different. But definitely not in that kind of place and not in one with drinks.
We come back when the concert is over, real late, after 4 a.m., but what could I do if I am just a passenger?
Before go to sleep, the girls just say some ‘thanks’ for everything and wish all the best in my journey. I guess I said the same for them. We did not see each other in the morning so it was basically that. I do not know if we had something more to say anyway.
The following day starts late. I agree to wake up later but Ousmane just got up around 2 p.m. I eat my last yoghurt and after he gives me a bread with Chocopan. My first bread with Chocopan: when I discover how much people loved and use that thing around here.
We go for another walk, now around the river. St Louis is a nice small town. To be honest, it looks like a Mexican town with all the colorful buildings and their balconies and I guess the river and the Palm trees and the clubs contribute to that.
He shows me his favorite place in the city. It is by the sea, a really nice and peaceful place, where we could hear the small waves against the wall. We decide to buy some food and a beer to come back there later to have dinner.
On the way to there at night, Ousmane gives me one of his gum bracelets. A green one. The place is also beautiful at night and after a lot of tries of a good picture we finally leave.
Early in the morning I leave his house trying to reach Dakar.
